Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the availability of qualified engineers to certify the construction of agricultural reservoirs; and what steps her Department is taking to increase capacity in this area.

Reservoirs capable of holding over 25,000m³ water above ground level are regulated under the Reservoirs Act 1975. Not all agricultural reservoirs will fall into this category. Anyone building one which does must appoint an engineer to oversee the construction. That engineer must be one who has been appointed by Ministers to a relevant panel. They are listed here.

The Department strongly supports the need to boost the supply and capacity of reservoir panel engineers. Defra is working with the devolved governments and Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) to: enhance engineer training and development; improve access to engineers for smaller reservoir owners; reach out to adjacent engineering sectors to boost recruitment; and review the existing panel structure to support engineer career progression. This is part of a wider programme of reservoir safety reform Reservoir Safety Reform Programme | Engage Environment Agency.